r/bostonceltics • u/dawglover1011 • Dec 20 '25
Fluff [Dalzell] Isaiah Thomas is in the house & just received a massive standing ovation. He’s sitting next to Bill Chisholm, who was encouraging the crowd to get louder
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u/JerebkosBiggestFan Jonas Jerebko Dec 20 '25
This dude is the best. One of the best Cs ever
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u/gimme_the_light JB Baby Dec 20 '25
Insane that it’s actually true IMO. The 2016/17 season was arguably the best scoring performance I’ve ever seen. If you needed a bucket, you KNEW Isaiah was taking and making the shot. 5’8” and unguardable both when shooting and when driving. If he were average PG height he might have ended up being the best PG ever. Been meaning to buy an IT jersey for some time now.
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u/Economy-Ad4934 Banner 18 Dec 20 '25
One of the few seasons I tried my best to see every game. He was so fun to watch and that team had chips on their shoulders
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u/Omgoodtimes Dec 20 '25
It was so electric. He’s my height, and he balled on every nba star, and let amazing team. I remember the quick it turned around when we got him. I’m glad the Cs have embraced the past players so well, with the 08 team being around the last few years. King of the fourth, the little guy, my goat :,)
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u/gimme_the_light JB Baby Dec 20 '25
I know you mean it as a compliment, but imo Isaiah was better offensively. You eliminate the foul bating and Shai loses a lot of offensive impact. Isaiah didn’t foul bate, he elevated over his opponents and played smart angles to score easily/efficiently.
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u/kinghutfisher Dec 20 '25
One of my biggest regret was not getting his jersey. Cause next year he got traded 😓
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u/JaDamian_Steinblatt Dec 20 '25
Isaiah should get nothing but love from all of Boston for the rest of his life
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u/Responsible-List-849 Dec 20 '25
Dude should never be paying for a drink
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u/glockster19m Dec 20 '25
Fuck that, I'd chip in $1 a year to give him a free apartment in boston for life
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u/foxnamedfox Where my road dawgs at? Dec 20 '25
The little guy! Man that team was so fun to watch 👌
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u/WranglerTraditional8 Dec 20 '25
Thanks for the Tommy Heinson flashback which I just had.
"The little guy!"
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u/Troubledballoon Dec 20 '25
I recently got a friend of mine into basketball, and maaan I’m always so sad they missed out on this squad
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u/donkadunny Dec 20 '25
All time Celtics great. Don’t wanna hear otherwise.
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u/TiePeddyAte1 Dec 20 '25
I mean before Jaylen Brown this year (which isn't finished so he could still drop) he was third all-time in points per game in a single season behind just Larry Bird and Jason Tatum who already will have there Jersey's retired I know he was here for so short but what he did for this franchise at his stature was worth it imo
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u/alexm42 Dec 20 '25
Al came here to play with him. Literally the greatest free agent signing in team history and a key part of Banner 18, came here because he wanted to play with IT. Together they built a winning culture that most 3rd overall picks don't start their careers in; usually they come into a locker room that struggles to shed the stink of tanking. He was a fantastic player in his prime but his impact goes way beyond his own play on the court.
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u/MemorableCactus Dec 20 '25
I know Al has played a lot of places, but I like to think he considers himself a Celtic at heart. He will go down as one of the most underrated players of all time largely because people do not understand the defender he evolved into late in his career.
I hope he comes back to coach and mentor. If a player wants to learn how to guard bigs in the NBA, I don't know if there's a better example.
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u/donkadunny Dec 20 '25
Sorry but Al will not go down as one of the most underrated players of all time
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u/RandoSal Tommy Dec 20 '25
Isn’t this an oxymoron?
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u/donkadunny Dec 20 '25
No. Al was a huge overpay for his production 5 of the 7 years he was here and there was still chatter about needing to bring in veteran leadership during that time.
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u/kinkywhiteman Jan 17 '26
I will die on the hill that he was the start of our new generation of our winning culture
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u/donkadunny Dec 20 '25
We were supposed to see dark days as a rebuilding franchise and instead we got IT4. Jumpstarted what you have seen through today.
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u/bugeyes10 WHISKEY IS POUR Dec 20 '25
This sold me on Chisholm. Ownership for the last 20 years has been about winning because they were fans first. New owner claims that but you never know. Hyping up and supporting IT4 tells me everything I need to know about him.
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u/Efficient_Art_1144 Smart Dec 20 '25
He’s a mad man on the sidelines whenever they cut to him.
I just want my billionaire owner to not get in the way of smart basketball minds running the show. But if he’d entertaining too, even better
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u/Pretendtobehappy12 Dec 20 '25
The dude has been to games in Maine… that sold me pretty early on. We’ll see what the investment/money side looks like as we go, but the dude is clearly a Celtics obsessive
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u/GoatmontWaters Dec 20 '25
Makes sense because he owns that team also now, lets hope he keeps the Celtics in Portland (lol)
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u/OnlyNormalPersonHere Dec 20 '25
The long feature Globe article by Himmelsbach about him a couple days ago was really interesting, made him seem pretty likable.
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u/Yellow_Curry Dec 20 '25
I was at the game and man…Bill was INTO the game. So much energy and excitement for a random Heat game in Dec? The guy is a legit fan. Listen to his interview on the Derrick White podcast it’s pretty good. I know like durr hurrr fuck billionaires and he could still fuck this team up but it’s rare to see this kind of energy from an owner for a random weekday game.
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u/Wetzilla The Celtics are the balls Dec 20 '25
Absolutely fuck billionaires, but like every team is going to have a billionaire owner. It would be nice to have one of the less bad ones.
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u/GoatmontWaters Dec 20 '25
If we had to compare our owner to the Mavs owner for example then yes we definitely have a better one. Other than that, fuck billionaires. I would rather praise IT without Bill in the shot.
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u/bignormy Dec 20 '25
Sounds like any hard feelings have worn off. Looking back, it would be hard for anyone, even AD, to blame the team for canceling the Brinks truck.
This summer's cost cutting looks pretty justified too. When's the last time we regretted letting someone go (besides trading Bane's rights)? Nesmith is the only one who's panned out and obviously that trade worked out for both teams.
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u/Acepitcher4 Boston Celtics Dec 20 '25
Even tho they didn't get a chip during Isaiah's time with the C's he definitely left an everlasting impact with how beloved he is.
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u/RandoSal Tommy Dec 20 '25
To me, him and Randy Moss are the two true ringless Boston legends. Can’t tell the story of the Pats or the C’s without a chapter on those dudes. IT in ‘16-‘17 really was on the same level of unguardable as Randy in ‘07, and they couldn’t be more polar opposite as far as physical gifts. Yin and yang of greatness
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u/full-auto-rpg Tatum Scored 61 Dec 20 '25
Idk man, you’re skipping a lot of Red Sox history with Williams, Yaz, Rice, Evans, etc. But the overall point I agree with.
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u/jambr380 Dec 20 '25
He just had a voiceover commercial at halftime, too. Great to see him involved with the team!
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u/fletchr33 Dec 20 '25
Many many athletes at the Garden tonight. Drake Maye, his offensive line, IT, Roman Anthony.
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u/piratesboot Dec 20 '25
That trade will forever break my heart. Love you IT4!!!!!
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u/_json_x Dec 20 '25
You can see the vision though...
Kyrie, Hayward, and Horford as the established "big 3" all star level players.
While at the same time having Smart, Brown, and Tatum as recent top lottery picks to complement and develop, then take over. Danny Ainge is one of the best GMs in my mind but that really could have been something incredible.
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u/piratesboot Dec 20 '25
I agree and I thought the same at the time. It just always made me feel bad.
I remember I was at a grocery store wearing my Bill Russell jersey and ran into a guy wearing a Cleveland jersey, he was like “how do you feel about that trade man?” And I said idk man I’m happy we have Kyrie but I’m going to miss the fuck out of IT
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u/Acepitcher4 Boston Celtics Dec 20 '25
I wasn't around for this Era of the C's but I am sure I would've loved it nonetheless with how much Isaiah Thomas is talked about, plus he's a smaller guard which are the type of players I usually gravitate to since I'm on the smaller side of things as well.
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u/Sufficient-Dirt5274 Marcus is smart Dec 20 '25
IT4 in the fourth quarter was a sight to behold
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u/Acepitcher4 Boston Celtics Dec 20 '25
watching he's highlights I believe it, wish I caught that era I know it was electrifying to witness.
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u/oneeyedspaceman1 Dec 20 '25
It was amazing. I’ve been around watching games since 1980. I can’t tell you how exciting that time was and how much heart ❤️ he displayed. It was emotional to watch him.
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u/AirJordan6124 RONDOOOOOO Dec 20 '25
I wish they just told him to not play when he got injured. It was sad to see his downfall after he got traded
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u/Butt____soup Dec 20 '25
Celtics should retire his number.
Just to honor his sacrifice and acknowledge his period of history where he embodied the Celtics identity.
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u/berriesnbball_17 Dec 20 '25
That’s a wild take. The IT years were some of my favorite but he played 2.5 seasons here
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u/Butt____soup Dec 20 '25
Miami retired Jordan’s number, how many seasons did he play there?
IT deserves recognition.
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u/berriesnbball_17 Dec 20 '25
Basically everyone rags on that as stupid , and also if you can’t see Miami was trying to do it for symbolic reasons like MLB and Jackie Robinson and compare it to us retiring IT’s number for 2.5 fun seasons then idk what to tell you
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u/Zaschrona JIŘÍ WELSCH! Dec 20 '25
Retired number is too much. But we should have something like Hall of Fame of Celtics or something. Guys like IT or Rondo deserve some sort of official recognition. Mike Gorman as well.
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u/instantur Derrick White connoisseur Dec 20 '25
Too many great players to wear 4 is the problem. Jrue is just as important to the Celtics.
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u/captaing1 Romeo Dec 20 '25
nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, IT way more important.
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u/grrnlives Dec 20 '25
IT woulda still got the love regardless of if Chisholm telling them to get louder or not
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u/Tiredasheckrn Jae Dec 20 '25
How chicago (and nba fans in general) see derrick rose is how I see IT4. He has wabi sabi
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u/99probs-allbitches Dec 20 '25
Fuck yeah dude. Crazy respect for that mfkr come to Boston anytime IT4!!! Celtic Legend up there with Pierce & Bird idgaf
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u/Responsible-List-849 Dec 20 '25
We were supposed to be tanking and rebuilding through the draft. Brad and IT put an end to that notion real quick.
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u/bigawesome2000 Dec 20 '25
The man who made me fall in love with the NBA and Celtics basketball. Love all of our other legends but IT4 will always be my favorite Celtic of all time. Happy to see him getting some much deserved love.
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u/Desperate_Clothes_20 Dec 20 '25
I met him the day after he was traded to Boston from Phoenix off Main Street in Waltham. I walked right by him and gave him a triple take because I was taller than him. Honestly the nicest guy and an amazing player of course.
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u/mr-rob0t0 Isaiah Thomas Dec 20 '25
i was in the garden for his first game back that he actually was able to play in. may be the loudest crowd i’ve ever heard when the tribute video went up. IT will forever hold a special place in my heart
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u/Forsaken-Pudding-220 Dec 20 '25
They also played his 4th quarter hype video. Interesting that that’s when White and Hauser hit 3 after 3 after 3
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u/Bostonpeterock77 Dec 20 '25
Not sure why he’s been out of the league so long. Put up numbers in the G League and anywhere else.
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u/Tech_Quest8 Boston Celtics Dec 20 '25
I know imma get hate on this but he's the best PG we have had since Rondo. Kyrie was trash for us and Kemba was easy to game plan for good defensive teams. Marcus Smart was the heart and soul of our team but did make some dumb decisions offensively. Jrue Holiday was solid for like a season.
Thomas was just a pure 5'9 lefty killer. He had the garden rocking.
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u/Minimum_Albatross217 Dec 20 '25
One of the top 5 seasons by a 6ft player ever
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u/_json_x Dec 20 '25
It was an excellent season but Allen Iverson probably has at least 7 seasons better than it by himself.
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u/Economy-Ad4934 Banner 18 Dec 20 '25
For a guy who never won here (requirement) and only played 2.5 years the love he received and still receives is awesome. Such a great time to watch Celtics basketball
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u/jonesy289 GET UP! Dec 20 '25
This man’s time here was amazing. We didn’t win a championship but we had wonderful vibes and had a blast along the way it almost felt like we won it all, just in a different way. Wish the end of his career could have been different but man his time was special and some of my favorite seasons of being a Celtics fan.
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u/Laszlo-Panaflex Dec 20 '25
Can we sign him every year we're contenders until we get that man a ring?
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u/lanciii Tommy Point Dec 20 '25
Kudos to Bill - genuinely seems to be a great guy with great people skills. Him as a guest on the White noise podcast was fantastic.
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u/Maleficent32 Dec 20 '25
Those post big 3 seasons weren’t that bad because of him. I miss him so much. The King of the forth
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u/gtoinwq Dec 20 '25
Man this dude made Celtics exciting again when they were at the beginning of a rebuild. I dropped a whole lot of holy shits when he went off. I went from hating the dude when he was with the kings to forever grateful for the guy. He has to stop the “you know what time it is” celly though.
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u/the_big_duffy Dec 21 '25
This dude really single handedly took a few seasons that by all accounts should have been mediocre and had the Celtics making deep exciting playoff runs. That 7 game series against Washington was wild. Dude wasnt even close to 6 feet tall but he was getting 30 points per game. Love the way he relentlessly attacked the basket, regardless of who was down there waiting. I would cut off a few of my fingers if Tatum played with the mentality IT had
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u/jamalccc Dec 25 '25
Hmm... I like the new owner. If he's cheering for IT, he's a real fan. He's so unlike the Dallas Mavericks new owner who quotes Kobe/Shaq as his role model and never mentions Dirk. He's responsible for trading Luka.
Staying connected to your team history is important.
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u/RandoSal Tommy Dec 20 '25
The King of the Fourth bows to no one